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"It is only a matter of time - and a few days at that - before English cricketers join the IPL and miss the start of the coming county season. England's top 12 players are on central contracts so they won't be going anywhere except New Zealand in the next few weeks. But that leaves several marketable players who are currently being tempted by offers.

Speculation this weekend centres primarily on 30-year-old Dimitri Mascarenhas, who batted well again for England in Christchurch yesterday. The IPL wants all-rounders with some star quality to help with the franchises' off-field promotions. Mascarenhas, with earrings and the kudos of having hit five consecutive sixes against India in England's one-day series last autumn, has that marketability - and some of the franchises have yet to fill their quota of eight overseas players per squad. Each franchise has to spend $3.3m on players' annual salaries, with a maximum of $5m.

Ligertwood, Mascarenhas's agent, is non-commital about whether his client will join. "I feel sorry they (England's contracted players) have missed the boat this year. Some of them could have gone for a million bucks. I talked to Kevin Pietersen's agent but it was just too difficult for KP. I'm sure the IPL would find a way in...but they would have to pay a fair bit. The top half-dozen English players will always be attractive as long as they are stars and not just good players."

The question is what the reaction of English counties will be when (not if) some of their players - not the centrally contracted 12 - sign for the IPL. There is simply no precedent for a county player going off to play somewhere else during the county season: it is only recently that the economies of the East have boomed.

Hampshire could go so far as to cancel Mascarenhas's contract if he breaks it by playing in the IPL - and there would be a lot of pressure on them from other counties to do so, as chief executives seek to hang on to their players. But Mascarenhas could point to his Hampshire captain, Shane Warne, who has already decided to play in the IPL and miss the first part of the county season, and argue that he deserves nothing worse than a pro-rata reduction in his Hampshire pay and a slap over the knuckles."

I talked to Kevin Pietersen's agent but it was just too difficult for KP. I'm sure the IPL would find a way in...but they would have to pay a fair bit

...as they word it like he may have done it but it was too difficult....hope that is untrue. I doubt he would. I see the IPL as an older cricketers game, coming to the end of their careers and wanting to make a nest egg, and KP said he didn't need the cash in his interview.

I have said it before and will say it again..I am really starting to hate this IPL. A load of players only playing in teams for money, not loyalty, which makes a mockery of cricket. It's a bit like us signing Adam Hollioake for the 20/20 last year for a huge amount of money, which hardly anyone at Essex agreed with.

20/20 WAS good for cricket I thought as it brought the youngsters and public in. Now it seems like it will change cricket completely and the youngsters won't care about tests and ODI's....just the wham, bam, thankyou ma'am style of cricket that I, for one, hate to watch live and am not so keen to watch on TV either. (Drunks galore at Essex who ruin the match in the live watching!)

They may as well name the IPL 'It's a knockout' and have Stuart Hall commentating. But even those teams were united in that they were from a town, or country or similar.

I actually am hoping it falls on it's backside...which is wrong as I should want cricket to do well, and with Setanta having signed up for 5 years, seems unlikely.

One of the reasons I came back on this board lately is I was interested to see if anyone felt like I did about it all and thought, I know where to look for a cricket debate! I was surprised how little it was being talked about. I personally think it is potentially a ticking timebomb to the cricket we know and love.

Reminiscent of Botham turning down South Africa because of his "friendship with Viv Richards" - and not at all because his agent pointed out he would lose a fortune in sponsorship if he went.

It is a huge timebomb. Not least because there are no signs that T20 fans convert to the longer game, certainly in England. But what do you do - the Indian Board will make more money out of the first IPL tourament than The ECB do in an entire year?

...as they word it like he may have done it but it was too difficult....hope that is untrue. I doubt he would. I see the IPL as an older cricketers game, coming to the end of their careers and wanting to make a nest egg, and KP said he didn't need the cash in his interview.

I have said it before and will say it again..I am really starting to hate this IPL. A load of players only playing in teams for money, not loyalty, which makes a mockery of cricket. It's a bit like us signing Adam Hollioake for the 20/20 last year for a huge amount of money, which hardly anyone at Essex agreed with.

20/20 WAS good for cricket I thought as it brought the youngsters and public in. Now it seems like it will change cricket completely and the youngsters won't care about tests and ODI's....just the wham, bam, thankyou ma'am style of cricket that I, for one, hate to watch live and am not so keen to watch on TV either. (Drunks galore at Essex who ruin the match in the live watching!)

They may as well name the IPL 'It's a knockout' and have Stuart Hall commentating. But even those teams were united in that they were from a town, or country or similar.

I actually am hoping it falls on it's backside...which is wrong as I should want cricket to do well, and with Setanta having signed up for 5 years, seems unlikely.

One of the reasons I came back on this board lately is I was interested to see if anyone felt like I did about it all and thought, I know where to look for a cricket debate! I was surprised how little it was being talked about. I personally think it is potentially a ticking timebomb to the cricket we know and love.

I really really hope I am wrong.

Thing is they haven't signed any English players so the fans on here and around haven't really given much of an interest of it's threat. Any how it many English players won't be going there, in the future i can see KP and Fred, and that's about it, i can't see any of the franchises signing anyone else.

Likes of New Zealand will be worried, the IPL is ok if it's in a part of a season where the players aren't going to be playing straight after for their countries but that is rare nowadays, but with the money that is going around you can't blame the cricketers joining up, even from the ICL. Ashraful of Bangladesh was offered US 1.25mill by the ICL but rejected it to join the Delhi team for US 75K, if players are coming to the end of their careers, lucrative deals will be signed more and more.